Late wickets slow Surrey charge at Lord’s

Surrey 267-4 v Middlesex

Tim Murtagh took two crucial wickets as Middlesex stalled Surrey’s progress on an intriguing first day at Lord’s.

The 31-year-old grabbed the prize scalp of Surrey skipper Graeme Smith for a duck and later ended the excellent innings of fellow opener Rory Burns, who fell for 114.

Arun Harinath (61) and Vikram Solanki (43) built a platform for Surrey in the middle order as Middlesex floundered during an attritional afternoon.

But late in the day Corey Collymore removed Solanki and Murtagh bowled Burns shortly afterwards to check Surrey’s charge.

Middlesex showed one change from the victory over Derbyshire, with Paul Stirling chosen ahead of Ollie Rayner to bolster the batting line-up.

South African Smith won the toss and elected to bat – and almost immediately suffered his third failure in four County Championship innings since joining Surrey.

The man who scored a mammoth 259 at Lord’s against England in 2003 this time fell for a duck when Murtagh had him caught in the slips by Dawid Malan.

Burns and Harinath came through a testing morning session, guiding Surrey to a very slow 45-1 at lunch, and continued to play patiently during the afternoon.

Both passed the 50 mark but boundaries were at a premium and they only added a further 99 runs to the total before tea.

The entertainment increased markedly in the evening session, Steven Finn having Harinath caught behind to break a stubborn stand of 147.

Left-hander Burns brought up his second century of the season, sharing in a partnership of 64 with the free-scoring Solanki.

But Collymore struck at the perfect time to remove Solanki and Murtagh ended Burns’s six-hour innings as Middlesex pegged Surrey back to 234-4.

A watchful fifth wicket stand between Zander de Bruyn and England wicket-keeper Steven Davies ensured Surrey shaded the first day – but Middlesex are still in the hunt thanks to those two wickets after tea.

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